


Wednesday the 18th: A Shules Extension

by ClaireFisher



Series: Words In Between [15]
Category: Psych (TV 2006)
Genre: Coffee Shops, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Love, Nightmares, Ocean, Pineapple Smoothie, Post-Episode: s03e15 Tuesday the 17th, Romance, Shules, beach, camp tikihama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:14:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27998094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClaireFisher/pseuds/ClaireFisher
Summary: After their experience on Camp Tikihama, both Shawn and Juliet have a lot to think about, nirghtmares treatening to take their sanity away as they try to find the cure for it on beverages. But, of course, life has other plans for them and the ocean perhaps might hold the awnser they so desperatly need.Post-Ep 03x15: Tuesday the 17th
Relationships: Juliet O'Hara/Shawn Spencer
Series: Words In Between [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1817497
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	Wednesday the 18th: A Shules Extension

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! I'm back with another fanfic part of the series Words In Between, which consist of extensions of my short stories posted in my multi-chap fic All Seasons With You :)
> 
> I know I had promised to post this yesterday but due to some events in my life my schedule has been crazy. But... finally, I made time to post this, at last!
> 
> Well, even this extention not being a request, I kind of always wanted to explore the aftermaths of this ep, after all, so much fear and terror in one night and not even a peek of how the characters ended.... not fair! Of course, this "injustice" caused my mind to wonder big time and this piece came to life!. 
> 
> I hope that, somehow, I managed to convey what both Shawn and Juliet felt while in that camp and brought another moment between them that lead Jules to get, even more, convinced to give Shawn a fair shot and assure her to proceed with her decision to ask him out on the next episode. 
> 
> Without further ado, I hope you enjoy it, and please leave a comment! I'll love to hear your opinion, suggestions, or anything else you feel like to say ;)

Drenched in sweat and out of breath was how Shawn Spencer woke up, at 2:30 in the morning, moonlight peeking shyly through some clouds, a result of the storm of last night. Pulling his T-shirt out, he dried his forehead roughly, grumbling, before a heavy sigh escaped from his lips as he tunneled his fingers through his thick brown mane, slightly pulling at the strands on the sides, not willing to admit that he was terrified of moving more than a few inches.

It wasn’t the first time he woke up startled and scared from a nightmare. Actually, it happened quite frequently, which should be alarming and concerning, causing Shawn to almost listen to his mother’s voice in his head, lecturing him about his mental health and all.

But, she knew better than to try to reason with her son on that subject, never fully capable of understanding the mind of her only child, her biggest challenge, psychologically speaking, of course. Her words never penetrated deep, and her advice seemed to fall on deaf ears.

And so, on that night it happened again. Another unpleasant dream was added to the extensive account.

Which wasn’t surprising considering the previous day’s events.

At some point, Jason had to understand that opening a murder camp was practically condemning himself to some level of psychotic interaction, even more, if taking his first name into account. He practically begged for a lunatic to come to terrorize his already terrifying business. 

But through it all, although he really feared for his life, letting all his childhood dreads take over his mind and body, Shawn was much more scared by the prospects that night presented to the people he cared about. 

First, it was Gus, who almost met his faith, stabbed by the hands of a mental Clive. 

Lost between his unthought flirting with a cute girl who was engaged, which he didn’t know previously so Shawn cut him some slack on that, and his wicked desire of taking revenge on his best friend, Gus was almost taken down as collateral damage. 

In other circumstances, perhaps, Shawn would be a whole more displeased with his friend, who was the primary reason why they were back at Camp Tikihama, a place he vowed never to set foot inside after the whole fiasco of 1988. But Gus being the one Shawn considered a brother, and essentially the only friend to stick around long enough to put up with his mess, the psychic could never stay mad at him for long. 

Despite their little disagreements over the case, and Gus completely abandoning him at some point, Shawn’s greater relief was knowing that his friend was out there, fast asleep in his fire truck pajamas, safe and sound, and not recovering from an uncalled injury.

That fact should be reassuring enough for Shawn to shut the nightmares away from his mind, but there was the other part of that equation, the other half of that delicate balance, the one walking on that thin uncertain line with him.

Juliet O’Hara was the one to blame for his early awakeness, causing his eyes to glue on the opposite wall of his bed, while he tried, with every ounce of his body, to suppress the horrible images of her purple lips and lifeless body after Clive murdered her instead of old Erwen, or her stabbed chest after she lost her battle against their persecutor in a fight held inside that filthy empty pool. 

Her blond hair still glowing under the moonlight, steeped Shawn’s mind, allowing him to almost smell its peach scent. Her eyes shining with fear, staring at him, coated with a layer of annoyance and irritation, as they always were whenever he started with his shenanigans, but truly terrified once she assessed that, the whole nonsense she found herself in the middle of wasn’t some sick acting and she was, in fact, in real danger.

And Shawn did all he could back there, all his understatement and reason threw on the wind as his body was filled with blind courage, his mind programmed with a single and only command.

Protect Jules.

No matter the costs, no matter the pain.

The guy who vanishes at the remote idea of something scaring was now replaced by a brave Spencer wandering alone in the woods, on a stormy windy night, going to a shack alone and unarmed, only because he knew that it was either him or Juliet, so he would make sure it was him rather than her. 

His fingers twitched, aching to reach his cellphone sitting at the nightstand, Shawn ready to press button 2 on his speed dial, just to listen to her sleepy voice on the other end of the line, a simple, hello being sufficient to settle his uneven heart, to settle his vicious mind and its powerful imagination which, in countless occasions during those last three years, did nothing but put him in extremely realistic dreams where either Juliet was dead or in his arms, kissing him tenderly, leaving Shawn at a loss, not sure if he should hate it or love it.

And as he tossed and turned for a few fifteen minutes, he was sure there was no use in staying in bed. He wouldn't get back to sleep anyway. So he threw his wet shirt on a pile next to his bed, hit the showers, cold water to wake him up, a pair of pants and flannel shirt later and he was hopped in his bike, heading to one of the only coffee shops in Santa Barbara that’s 24-hour and serves pineapple smoothies. 

They weren't exactly great, requiring some imagination to actually taste the pineapple on the blend, but it would serve enough to soothe his emotions for at least a few hours when it would be sensible to wake up his best friend. Despite his often cluelessness, Shawn knew when to be respectful, even serious on certain occasions. 

Crossing the glass door, he headed straight to the front bar, a tired young brunette girl, barely in her twenties, left to prepare his order after accepting his crumpled dollars. Shawn stood there, weight supported in one of the stools, while he waited for his smoothie so he could get out of there, craving to run fast to the only place he knew would definitely calm him completely, wishing to disappear for a while, only until he was sure his mind had its proper rest.

But, of course, life had other plans for him.

As the small bell on the door rang, he involuntarily lifted his eyes which were, a moment earlier, carefully studying his shoes, to meet a pair he knew way too well. Blue round comets that belonged to a person he still strived to understand how could have such power over him. 

“Shawn?”

Her blond hair down, cascading on her shoulders, messed, as if she had woken up in the middle of the night, craving so much for a coffee that she didn’t have the time to care much about her appearance. 

For him, she was still beautifully mesmerizing though.

His mouth went dry instantly, and Shawn struggled to answer, an event so rare to him, who was caught unprepared for that interaction, his mask of easiness and humor forgot above his bed when he stepped out of his apartment in a rush half an hour ago. 

She kept staring at him, eyes so mixed he couldn't interpret much from what he’s seeing, feeling a little numbed by her presence and the turmoil of images flashing inside his mind, setting his heart at a wild speed. 

“Hey, Jules! What are you doing here?”

Before he could assess, his fingers were scratching the back of his neck and any attempts of faking careless and easygoing mood went down the drain, along with his hope of reminding himself about why he and Juliet may never work out, instead of fantasizing about the feeling of her petite figure involved by this arms, a though it shouldn't be invading his mind now, that still did anyway.

“I…. I just came by to grab a coffee.”

In fair honesty, Juliet wasn’t a perking up flower herself, looking rather unsettled and spooked than cheerful and sympathetic, seeming to have forgotten her mask at home too. She took a few unsure steps towards him, almost missing at how he sucked in a breath as if her presence alone was fire, which left her doubtful at what to understand from that reaction.

But her heart was pounding too loud in her ears for her to care about how much she was allowing herself to be affected by the psychic. Her mind was still recovering from the dreadful nightmare where Shawn laid on a puddle of his own blood after she missed the shot and hit him instead of Clive. 

She killed the guy who she was in love with.

And in other moments Juliet would, for sure, shut her dumb heart and compromised mind for allowing her to think that she may love Shawn. But it was three in the morning, and until she met with him in that coffee shop, the young Detective was positive her dream was reality and Shawn was now buried 10 feet underground. 

“At three in the morning?”

His crooked eyebrow was enough to bring up some of her stubborn personality and right there she wanted to justify, wanted to pin him a little, but, again, her body and mind were working separately, and she was left to shrug her shoulders slightly while dismissing his question with another one.

“What are you doing here?”

Mimicking her, Shawn opened his mouth to say something, but the barista came barging in on the awkward moment between them, a large cup in her hands as she announced his beverage was ready. 

Juliet, a ghost of a smile on her lips, couldn't help but stare at the unreadable man standing in front of her.

“Pineapple smoothie? At three in the morning?”

“Oh Jules” - he shook his head, lips twitching on his infamous grin, even if this one wasn’t that heartfelt - “There’s no such right time for pineapples. Every hour is pineapple hour. You should know that by now.”

This time she couldn't prevent the grin and, at the sight of bluish-green eyes, Juliet felt some of her fear and the awkwardness between them melt away. 

“I’m sorry.”

He then smiled too.

“You’re forgiven.”

With an exaggerated movement of his hand, he bowed slightly, earning from her a stifled giggle, eyes sparkling with her joyful mood, calming Shawn who, until now, was getting worried by the second at the lack of that beautiful trait, so usual for her, on his friend’s face. 

In silence they stood for a few seconds, stuck on that hazy only them two seemed to notice until the cleaning of the throat from the barista brought Juliet back to reality and she walked further inside, standing by Shawn’s side while she ordered her coffee to go and kept inspecting the display holding some very appealing pink-glazed with colorful sprinkles on top donuts. 

Shawn, on his part, couldn't stare anywhere else but to his beautiful friend, the way she seemed to genuinely go over a battle on rather she should go for the sweet treat or not but, in the end resolving in dismissing it and sticking with her coffee, which was handed to her haphazardly, as if the young employee was, somehow, mad at Juliet for, apparent, no reason.

The faux psychic wouldn’t vouch for jealousy. Even he, who thought so highly of himself daily, couldn't believe that. After all, Juliet and he were just friends, right? On her decision of course, but friends nevertheless. 

Once more they stared at each other briefly, Juliet ready to say something, mouth half-open to form a sentence when Shawn beat her at the punch. 

“So, heading back home?”

She took a few seconds to access what he said before she could actually respond.

“I… I was going t-”

Before she could proceed Shawn cut her, earning the same annoyed icy blue stare from when she found him hiding in the laundry shack’s closet. Still, he proceeded. 

“I was thinking about taking a stroll on the beach. Care to join me?”

Juliet watched him a little disbelieved, not by his forthwith invitation, after all, Shawn asked her out at least twice a week. Maybe not with much clarity or in many ways conventional, but always making her sure he was available for any type of activities and dates. She was actually surprised he was willing to take a stroll around the beach on a night like that when the storm was still a possibility and while he was clearly struggling with something.

“Now?”

He shrugged his shoulders.

“Yeah.”

He was expecting her denial, but to his most delightful surprise, she nodded her head, a shy smile dancing on her pink lips.

“Okay.”

Before she could regret her decision, Juliet walked to the door, leaving a wonderstruck Shawn behind, who needed a few seconds to believe that conversation actually happened. On his way out, wobbling after her, he missed the deadly envy stare the barista threw at Juliet as if she knew of something both psychic and the cop didn’t.

Leaving their vehicles behind, as the beach was only two blocks away, they walked in silence, both sipping their respective beverages, much like they did a good few months ago, under the golden light of the sun setting at the bright ocean. But now, different from that magical afternoon, both carried much more concern and fear in their hearts, their lack of words caused mainly by what their trick minds conjured while they slept that night.

When you see the person you care about, not to say, love, for they are still afraid of thinking so, bleeding to death, it’s hard to shake it off of your head.

Soon they were at the beach, cold wet sand touching their bare feet as they held their footwear in their hands, empty cups long ditched at a nearby trash can. The high tide was almost reaching them, even if they were walking at the limits of the boardwalk. 

After a while, they made a stop, to a place on the beach Juliet didn’t recognize, poorly illuminated by the lampposts of the street. Apparently, Shawn knew that semi-isolated part, and, as if inside his home, he plopped on the floor, eyes inviting her to do the same. Soon she joined him, arms hugging her knees as she watched the tide pull the salty water, only to return it in the form of waves and mist. 

The unsettling silence was too much, and even with his all willpower, Shawn had to say something, anything, not caring if he couldn’t deal with what would come from Juliet’s mouth, not so sure of why she was there, why she accepted his invitation, why she was buying coffee at three in the morning, but prone to listen to her if she had something to say.

“So… Jules. What actually brings you here? In such fine company, I must add.”

She stared fiercely at him and, right there he knew humor wouldn’t be welcomed so he dropped the feigned act and his face sobered. Juliet, on her part, focused her eyes on the revolving ocean, her voice loud enough for only him to listen over the waves as if prying eyes were around the corner. 

“Couldn't sleep.”

As simple as it was that statement, Shawn could read so much more from it, the way her back was stiffened, her face lost, hands playing with the hem of her long sleeves as she didn't mind the strands of hair blowing in her face with the breeze.

He straightened his posture, clearing his throat once before saying anything.

“Me neither. Bad dreams?”

She nodded and he held the urge to inquire more, afraid of pushing her away, which was a whole new feeling for someone who constantly pushed everyone away when the matters became too personal. 

“Yesterday....” - she inhaled once, hands holding her hair down so it would stop tickling at her face - “I… I was scared, Shawn. And there I felt so powerless and then you almost …”

She was now facing him, shimmering eyes glowing like stars in orbit and Shawn felt the gravity of them dragging him helplessly, the tide too strong to swim against, but how pleasant it was, he almost lost his words. 

“Hey. It's… I'm okay, Jules. You’re too. And it’s not because you’re a cop that you need to be strong all the time. You know that, right?”

She nodded but he suspected she didn't know.

“And, don’t worry, Jules. I’ll always have your back”

She found in his eyes such deep sincerity she struggled to keep collected and composed. Right there, Juliet felt more tempted than ever to finally give a chance to him, to them. Shawn had proved, through those last two nights, that he was there to stay, to protect her no matter which level of fear he was under. 

He never left her alone and, even if he was the reason why she ended up in that whole mess, he didn’t let her face it alone. 

And even if he never said a word, she guessed he was there, on the beach, with her because he too struggled with his share of bad dreams. Being who he was, Juliet was almost certain that Shawn was just as much assaulted by his nightmares than she was by hers. 

In all those years of acquaintance she could read a thing or two about him, always sure when something was wrong. 

But the single fact of him putting his own fears aside, once more, to be there for her, was enough to settle her scared heart in a pleasant warmness, soothing it to a slower pace, until all she could do was admire those moments where he was completely him when she was around and he would drop the act.

Sure there was too much she still didn’t know, that she was still waiting to see and discover, but for now, it was enough.

Smiling she made sure he had his eyes still locked on hers when she answered.

“And I’ll have yours, always.”

His lopsided grin graced his face and Juliet felt her breathing fault a little. 

Smiling back, she scooched a little closer than necessary and, if their proximity caused both to melt a bit, neither would say a thing about it. 

The silence returned, but this time, it was pleasant and needed, both now letting all the said, and unsaid truths to sep and soak until all the fear was gone and buried. 

As the morning sun started to make its first appearance, shy rays not bright and warm enough to say the day was beginning for real, Shawn and Juliet were still embraced by their soothing presence and the calming sound of the ocean, happy to know that, may the fear be high but so was the price they were willing to pay to make sure the other was safe.

Juliet would have his back just as much as Shawn would have hers. 

And that knowledge itself was enough to vanish with any trace of blood, scary camps, mental murders, senseless assassinations, and threatening “what if”. 

As long as they had one another, they were safe.


End file.
